ODERUS ASKS DEZ:
1. What is that thing on your chin?
Dez: It’s a Tattoo to ward off Scary Monsters, much like yourself, my monstrous friend! In all honesty I tattooed my face to separate myself from the pack! Also it reminds me that the corporate world cubicle thing was / is NOT A LIFE OPTION FOR ME.
2. Why did you reform Coal Chamber after you swore you never would?
Dez: I enjoy throwing myself in the Fire of Redemption, as well we missed each other and the music. Now that we have done shows it’s quite obvious the love for the band is still strong and we intend on doing more! The bands from our scene are still the largest bands on the planet! Coal Chamber took Slipknot on their first USA run ever, we had System of a Down open for us for years as we were both LA and unsigned, we had Disturbed open every time we came through Chi Town so it’s fitting that we make another go, sad we broke up but I did not want to be around the band’s HARD drug use and I realized that going onstage every night that the money was feeding their habit so I walked to save my friends. They are clean now so in hindsight it was the right thing to walk and looking at them off meth is a beautiful thing.
3. You’re old. Why do you keep doing this?
Dez: It’s not me, if you’ll notice I haven’t aged…that’s what quality clones will do for you. I paid good money for them bastards they better stay on tour!
4. Did you have sex with Sharon Osbourne?
Dez: No, but the thought had crossed my mind at times. I could imagine her filthy language in bed. Ahhh… Actually I just spoke with her at Download [Festival]. It’s always a pleasure to see her or the family. (Sharon, ya know, I love ya!) I will say this that both her and Ozzy were always great to me and I was honored to cover “Shock The Monkey” with Ozzy. Not many people can say they met the man let alone hung with his family, had him cook breakfast for you or did a song with such a legend.
5. You are married and used to be a real drunk. Every night you are surrounded with booze and chicks yet you never drink or chase tail. How the hell do you do that?
Dez: I have a beautiful little redhead wife that satisfies even the most passionate bloodlust! I got all that bullshit out of my system early in my career! All the cliché rock crap and lived through it. I watched Coal Chamber do so many hard drugs it made Keith Richards look like a pussy. I’ve rode atop my tour bus hammered doing 70, don’t remember people I’ve met five times and frankly it gets old. I also am very uncomfortable being around crowds, I would rather hang with a few friends and chill. So, I’m a recluse and that’s that I live in unaffected isolation, don’t pay attention to scenes, I’ve got my ear to the ground but follow my own path. ART.
DEZ ASKS ODERUS:
1. When you started Gwar you were a bunch of kid art students, did you think you would have such longevity as a band and that your fan base would be so rabid after all these years?
Oderus: No way! We were just a bunch of goofy college kids who loved to make bands that were basically just big jokes. GWAR, which was originally called GGWWWAAARRGGKKKHHHLLLGH, actually would open up for my ‘real’ band, Death Piggy. We’d do a couple horrible songs, then bail and come back as Death Piggy, and play even more horrible music. After doing that a couple times we realized that everybody was leaving after GWAR was done, so we decided we would give it our full attention…but even then we had no idea that we would become as notorious as we did!
2. I’ve toured with you and known you for years, and once you’re in character it’s on! How long does this process take? Answer as Brockie please!
Oderus: I stay Brockie until I have the very last piece of my costume ready to put on…my ‘bucket’, the actual Oderus head. It takes about a half an hour to get everything in place, including painting on my famous ‘six-pack’ abs. Then it’s time for ‘battle-juice’…two Jager-Bombs. Makes my face hot and my tongue loose! Then I pull that stinky rubber head on in one violent gesture, and the transformation is complete. I am Oderus, and woe to the world that made me!
3. Are there worlds that you still wish to take the Almighty Gwar to? You’re getting up there in years and with limited time left you must have aspirations of conquering other planets besides this place.
Oderus: Up there in years?! You have gotta be kidding! I mean Lemmy and Alice Cooper are still touring, and I have the added advantage of having a rubber monster suit to disguise how old I am. But GWAR, despite all the abuse, is actually pretty happy on Earth. They went back to outer space a couple of years ago and were shocked to find out that there was no crack in space. They were back on Earth pretty quick!
4. What does Gwar stand for? Yes, I’m asking!
Oderus: Honestly, it stands for whatever you want it to…we never wrote it as an anagram, it never meant Gay Women Against Rape or Great White Aryan Race or even God, What a Racket. The real story was that the name of the band was the first thing that came out of Oderus’ mouth when Sleazy discovered them just as they were waking up after their centuries of sleep in Antarctica…Sleazy, thinking these furballs had to be a metal band, asked what the name of the group was. Oderus replied by vomiting, and it sounded like GGWWWAAARRGGKKKHHHLLLGH. But Sleazy, knowing he could never fit that on a t-shirt, shortened it to GWAR. The rest is history!
5. Most men have Penis Envy when seeing the cuddle fish on you, the question is what do the female genitalia look like on your planet to take such a large piece? Please explain in detail!
Oderus: I wish I could but I have never seen a female Oderus…and I am very glad to not have done so thus far. But, using my vivid imagination I can see something that looks like a cross between a volcano with herpes and Divine, the dogshit-eating transvestite from numerous Jon Waters films. Only about 20 times bigger. Oderus has never mated with his own kind and as a result prefers having sex with dead things. He does have an idea that the pussy of a blue whale might be big enough to fit his cock…the problem is finding one!
** DevilDriver With GWAR, Cancer Bats and Legacy of Disorder
10/12: Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
10/13: Worcester, MA @ The Palladium (“Rock and Shock”)
10/14: Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
10/15: New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place
10/16: Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/18: Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
10/19: Ybor City, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
10/20: Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
10/22: Charlotte, NC @ Amos’ Southend
10/24: New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
10/25: Austin, TX @ Emo’s
10/26: Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
10/27: Houston, TX @ House of Blues
10/31: Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
11/1: Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
11/2: Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
11/3: Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
11/4: West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
11/5: Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
11/6: Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
11/8: Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
11/9: Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
11/10: Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO
11/11: Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
11/12: Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theater
11/14: Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Events Centre
11/15: Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall Ballroom
11/16: Saskatoon, SK @ Odeon Events Centre
11/17: Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick Center
11/18: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/20: Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
11/21: Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
11/23: Detroit, MI @ Harpo’s
11/24: Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
11/26: Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theater
** Visit and like DevilDriver on Facebook.
** Visit and like GWAR on Facebook.
